Why Rajon Rondo is the Perfect Point Guard to Run the Boston Celtics Offense

Make no mistake about it: If there’s one player in the NBA to run the Celtics offense now, and in the future, it’s Rajon Rondo.

This is something to consider, as the C’s are presumably only going to remain in their current incarnation for one more season before Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and the majority of the remaining roster head towards a major free agency period in 2013.

Once a new team is in place, Rondo will be looked upon to be a key influence in the direction the Celtics take in the coming years. He’ll need to become a leader and utilize his pass-first, or traditional point guard, skills to bring his new team together quickly.

Luckily, it’s this skill set that can make the impending transition go as smoothly as expected.

The Celtics aren’t going to ask Rondo to take over games like Derrick Rose would—he’s not that type of player. What he is is a player who makes his teammates better in all areas of their game.

Rajon Rondo needs to keep playing the style of basketball he currently plays, while increasing his leadership role. If this remains true, the Celtics shouldn’t miss a beat as the team changes for the future.

Rondo Is a Playmaker

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Rajon Rondo is one of the best playmakers in all of basketball. You can make the argument against him not being one of the best overall point guards (people often want to include scoring for PGs), but when it comes to distributing the basketball, he is one of the best.

Rondo has breathed new life into Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Without his abilities, the Big Three wouldn’t have been as effective as they were, and the team probably wouldn’t have won a title in 2008.

If the Celtics move in a new direction over the next couple of years, Rondo will be able to help acclimate his new teammates to the Celtics' style of basketball and make them effective players in a team-oriented system, because he can create opportunities for the whole team.

Rondo Is a Defensive Specialist

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The knock against Rondo has always been his shooting, but he more than makes up for it on the other end of the court with his defense.

A defensive-minded point guard goes a long way in the NBA. Rondo has been in the top 10 in the league in steals since entering the league in 2006-07, and the Celtics have been among the league’s stingiest defenses since Rondo’s second year in the league.

Rondo’s ability to defend at a high level will surely benefit the Celtics as the team shifts dimensions in the next couple of seasons. You generally don’t hear about teams being defensively inconsistent, which supports the theory that defense wins games when it comes to talking about the league’s best teams.

Rondo Makes His Teammates Better

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Going back to Rondo’s playmaking skills, Rondo makes everyone on the court better players. His ability to find the open man is uncanny. It’s also his ability to distribute to three superstars that makes him perfect for the Celtics' current situation.

This is far from a newfound asset of his, but no one on the Celtics complains about opportunity, because Rondo is out there evenly distributing the ball to everyone. You can’t complain when you’re playing a team game, getting minutes and winning.

Part of the appeal of new players coming to Boston for the 2012-13 season will be because free agents know that they will have great looks on a regular basis from Rondo.

Rondo Is Still Young

Rajon Rondo still has a long NBA career ahead of him. He’s not invincible, as we’ve seen recently, so he’ll need to reform his ways a bit, but at 25 he’s going to be around for a while.

This will allow Rondo to grow and evolve alongside a new cast of teammates in the future. There may be some initial growing pains when life after the Big Three starts, but Rondo is far along enough in his career that he can be the one to lead for many years to come.